Relocation Spotlight: Greenwood King Properties
Greenwood King Properties has long been associated with Houston’s luxury real estate market.
Three years ago, the company joined Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, and its luxury arm, Luxury Portfolio. Since that time, membership in the LeadingRE network, which is comprised of over 550 independent residential real estate brokerage firms, has allowed the company to expand its reach to include relocation and referral services worldwide.
I recently sat down with the company’s relocation director, Lynn Scott. She explained that most people think about relocation only in terms of the corporate transfers of employees; however, there is a broader relocation market that includes people who move or buy additional properties in other cities for more personal reasons. That’s where membership in LeadingRE brings value to Greenwood King, its agents, and the clients they serve.
Scott began our discussion by emphasizing that “relocation is a story.”
Following are excerpts from our conversation.
MS: Why do you say that relocation is a story?
LS: When I do training for our agents, I always start with the stories of relocation, including my own story, because I have moved so many times.
I think that relocation is a story that is overlooked when we talk about the buying and selling of houses. The profile of the relocation buyer and seller is much different from the traditional client. The way that they buy and sell properties is different. They buy for the short term, so they don’t necessarily care about green carpets and purple walls.
MS: What are the key benefits for your company as members of LeadingRE and Luxury Portfolio?
LS: LeadingRE is a member centric organization, and that’s a good match for Greenwood King because we are client centered in that same way.
Our agents have been selling Greenwood King for over 30 years, but until we became members in LeadingRE, they had never sold our services outside of the city of Houston.
Now we have an opportunity to not just be local, but to be global. So, we get to provide our full range of services to people who are coming and going.
MS: In what ways does your membership benefit your clients?
LS: Many of our clients who are moving to a new city say that they wish that they could take their realtor with them, because it would make their move so much easier.
That’s the idea of the referral network. The client does get to take their Realtor with them, in a sense, because before I place the referral with another member company, I always ask my agent to tell me something about their client that will be helpful in making a good match. Over and over again, my agents will tell me to find an agent who is like them.
So, when I place the referral, I include my agent’s bio and ask for the client to be placed with an agent who is like them. It makes matching really easy, and there is a warm and fuzzy feeling that happens with the client.
MS: What other aspects come into play when placing referrals?
LS: It goes back to matching clients with agents.
So, if a client is selling a luxury property here in Houston, they probably want a luxury agent in the new city. Luxury is a specialty in the same way that relocation is a specialty. So, we match clients with agents based on their specific needs.
MS: How does your membership in LeadingRE enhance your ability to market the homes that you have listed for sale?
LS: Since Greenwood King is a boutique firm, and because many of our listings are in niche areas, and are custom built with a unique flavor to them, sellers often tell us that they don’t think that a Houstonian is going to buy their house. So, they ask us what we are going to do to attract international buyers to their property.
This is where marketing properties through Luxury Portfolio comes into play, which is a wow factor for those sellers.
MS: What do your agents like best about the relocation aspects of the business?
LS: Most agents who get a taste of relocation tend to like it, because it’s quick.
They also like the loyalty of the client. When someone is new to Houston, the only person they might know is their realtor.
I tell my agents all the time that it’s like they are giving their client a T-shirt with their name on it, because all that client talks about when meeting new people are all of the things that their realtor did for them.
Happy clients will use their experience to engage the people that they meet here in Houston.